12-20-2003, 09:47 PM
Quote:the thing is there is no difference form walking into a store taking a cd and downloading a song that you do not have the permisom to.
Of course there is. Just like there's a difference between inserting a hack card into your satellite reciever and hijacking a satellite for your own purposes.
It doesn't make downloading music right, but it's a slippery slope when you've decided the two have no difference.
Ironically, the RIAA does NOT think the two are the same, and their actions have shown such. The criminal punishment for shoplifting in this case would be FAR less than the millions of dollars they're suing individuals for. PLUS, the individuals would have greater rights, and the RIAA wouldn't be involved (in case you haven't noticed, they're not a law enforcement agency, as much as they like to pretend they are), so the accused would have certain unalienable consititutional rights, as well as a guarantee to a free trial. In addition, many of these cases would end up with a hefty, but payable fine, and for first-time offenders, almost certainly no jail time. Worst of all, individuals can't fight, because they if they happen to lose, they're destroyed(can YOU pay back millions of dollars in damages?).
Remember, the RIAA are a bunch of lying fascists who hate democracy. They hate America. The only thing they love is money, and if they can circumvent American law and democracy, they've proven that they will. Don't sympathize with them, because they'd just as soon sue you for 10 million dollars for downloading the latest Micheal Jackson single.